November 06, 2008

Its taken me a couple of days to gather my thoughts on what the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States means to business, in particular the youth market. In many ways, this was all inevitable...

A couple of things I've felt strongly about before Nov. 4, 2008 have indeed come to fruition as a result of this significant day in world history. Anyone who knows me, has heard my belief in these two things prior to last Tuesday.

1. The Latino population would help decide the winner of the presidential election.

Hispanic voters didn't just leave their mark on this year's
presidential election. They decided it. Four states with sizable
Hispanic populations that went for Bush in 2004—Florida, Colorado, New
Mexico and Nevada—all turned blue this time around, adding 46 crucial
electoral votes to the Democratic candidate's winning tally. - via Newsweek"Latinos Go for Obama"

2. The youth (18 to 29) voter participation level would be the largest ever. Keep in mind that Latinos occupy the largest percentage of Millennials.

An estimated 21.6 million-23.9 million young Americans voted in
Tuesday's presidential election, an increase of at least 2.2 million
compared with 2004, according to national exit polls, demographic data,
and projections of total numbers of votes cast. The 2004 election was a strong one for youth turnout, reversing a long
history of decline. If we compare 2008 with 2000, the increase in youth
turnout is between 8 and 13 percentage points. - via Market Watch "Youth Voter Turnout Up"

This now means that brands invested in youth lifestyle culture simply can not ignore the growing clout of the Latino market. Neither Presidential candidate could overlook our voice, and now business must take a page from the Obama playbook.

The fact that Obama has taken what we thought we knew about politics
and turned it into a different game for a different generation is no
longer news. What has hardly been examined is the degree to which his
success indicates a seismic shift on the business horizon as well.
Politics, after all, is about marketing -- about projecting and selling
an image, stoking aspirations, moving people to identify, evangelize,
and consume. The promotion of the brand called Obama is a case study of
where the American marketplace -- and, potentially, the global one --
is moving. - via Fast Company

So if you haven't started to address your brands needs by now, get on it!

Cause if your looking forward to the economy hitting the bottom, your only likely to feel the presence of an abyss should you continue putting off dedicated efforts to tap in the Latino youth market.

The action sports industry, especially skate/snow/surf are really in a unique opportunity to capitalize on the Latino youth trend, even in a down economy. - via Brandweek "General Market is Tanking? No Problema"

There are three other reasons why the Hispanic market may be
relatively insulated against the downturn:

• The categories remaining strong are comparatively
nondiscretionary for Hispanics: wireless, food and cars. People
cannot give up talking, eating or driving to work, execs say. Thus
those dollars are protected.
• Hispanics under-index in terms of stock market holdings and
income, and their finances have not been impacted the way the
general market has.
• Hispanic marketing budgets are already so small that cutting them
doesn’t really have a significant impact on most company’s expense
lines. - via Brandweek "General Market is Tanking? No Problema"

Another recent example of "culture-making" in the world of action sports...Via High Snobeity

“Using the Nike All Court shoe, the design incorporates a technique
known as piteado, a popular method used on leather belts and boots
throughout Latin America. The word “Pride” is displayed on the shoe to
reflect the lifestyle of Hispanics living in the United States and the
font used was made famous by the low rider culture of the southwest.
The floral details also encourage freedom of expression while the jewel
tone colors of brown, yellow and green combine to give the shoe a
unique appearance.”

November 02, 2008

If you check out the adidas original skateboarding site right now you'll see a lot of images of the team's recent trip down to the Districto Federal. Or you can just watch this video. Can't help but notice the impact of color, the scenery is just filled with it.